Sony launch PS3 cinema library

Partner with online streaming service Mubi

Cannes 2010 - Sony today announced a new partnership with online film library MUBI, a service that will allow Playstation 3 users to access via high-quality online streaming.

MUBI will be a free, downloadable app for Playstation 3 initially offering between 350-500 films to stream directly, with an emphasis on independent, classic and foreign cinema.

Makes a change from BioShock 2, we suppose.

What's caught our attention is the promise that MUBI's content will include a range of obscure, hard-to-watch titles that are either unavailable or a nightmare to find on DVD. One example - Ki-young Kim's original The Housemaid , the 1960 basis for Sang-soo Im's Palme d'Or contending remake.

Sony bod Nainan Shah described the service, impressively, as "a never-ending film festival in your living room".

French director Agnes Varda was also on hand to talk up the service's "quality control" aspect - only films deemed to be up to snuff will be offered, with a particular focus on the work of directors who fall under the "auteur" umbrella.

We're still not 100% sure how whole the quality control bit will be implemented, but we have to admit the concept of a pre-vetted film library has us a bit intrigued.

The service is due to launch this autumn in the UK, and will offer free, pay-per-view and subscription-only content.

Promising new service for the post-Bittorrent world, or gimmicky retread? You decide.